White-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta carolinensis

Order

Family

Code 4

Code 6

ITIS

Egg Color:

Number of Eggs:

3 - 10

Incubation Days:

12

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Location:

10 - 60 feet above ground.

Nest Material:

Lined with bark shreds, hair, and feathers.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

White-breasted Nuthatch: Large nuthatch with blue-gray upperparts, black crown and nape, and white face and underparts. Tail is dark with white corners. Female is similar but with blue-gray crown and nape.

Range and Habitat

White-breasted Nuthatch: Largely resident from British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia south to California, Arizona, and northern Florida. Absent from treeless areas in the Great Plains and semiarid shrub and scrub steppe of the Great Basin. Common and widespread, inhabits mixed deciduous and coniferous forests, and prefers the presence of oak trees.

Breeding and Nesting

White-breasted Nuthatch: Three to ten white to pink eggs, marked with brown, purple and red, are laid in a cup nest made of twigs and grass, lined with bark shreds, hair, and feathers, and built in a natural cavity, knothole, woodpecker hole, or bird box, 10 to 60 feet above ground. Female incubates eggs for about 12 days.

Foraging and Feeding

White-breasted Nuthatch: Feeds on insects, spiders, seeds, and nuts. "Nuthatch” is derived from its habit of placing seeds or nuts in crevices of trees, then prying them open with its bill; may hide seeds in loose bark or crevices.

Readily Eats

Suet, Sunflower Seed

Vocalization

White-breasted Nuthatch: This bird is usually quiet during breeding season and in the summer. In late winter and spring it sings a series of about 6-8 low whistled notes. The call is a nasal sounding "yank-yank."

Similar Species

White-breasted Nuthatch: Red-breasted Nuthatch has a black eye-line and red underparts. Brown-headed and Pygmy nuthatches have brown caps and white patch on nape. While not definitive, Red-breasted, Pygmy, and Brown-headed nuthatches are mostly found in pines, whereas the White-breasted prefers deciduous trees.